"We took the right decision for the benefit of Lewis Hamilton": Toto Wolff on delaying George Russell's promotion to Mercedes

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed that their decision to delay George Russell's promotion to the German team by a year from Williams was the right one. It has been reported that the Brackley-based outfit would promote their junior driver, Kimi Antonelli in place of Lewis Hamilton for the 2025 season.

The Italian driver has won every single category he has competed in other than Formula 2, as he is currently P7 in the driver's championship in an inconsistent Prema car.

Speaking in an exclusive with "BBC", Toto Wolff Was asked if he could not wait another year for the 18-year-old as he did with George Russell when the latter was driving for the Williams F1 team from the period of 2019 to 2021. The Austrian replied:

"Without pre-empting too much about next year's drivers, in a way, when such talent comes up, it's not right either to park someone or place someone with another team. With George, it was probably a year too long with Williams," Wolff said

"But then also we didn't really have any space before. Let's see what happens, but in a way I think we took the right decision for the benefit of Lewis, the team's benefit, Kimi. It feels right," he added.

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George Russell gives his take on Kimi Antonelli becoming his potential teammate in 2025

Mercedes F1 driver Goerge Russell stated that F2 driver Kimi Antonelli was 'destined' to be in F1 given the success he has achieved in the junior categories.

Speaking with F1.com, the Brit spoke glowingly about the young Italian driver and said:

“I think whoever's going to be my teammate next year, of course, we'll welcome them. And excited for the challenge together. Kimi's an exceptional driver, such an amazing track record. In his junior series, always destined to be a Formula 1 driver," Russell said.

“If it were to be him, I think it sort of shows the strength also of the Mercedes junior program and reminds me a bit of my journey, starting off as a young kid, walking through the doors in Formula 3 and climbing the ladder. And it would be a great story for the team, but who knows?" he added.

Kimi Antonelli will replace George Russell in his first FP1 session in the sport driving the latter's W15 in front of his home fans at the Italian Grand Prix on Friday. The one-hour practice session would be the first outing for fans across the globe to witness the skills of the 18-year-old behind the wheel of an F1 car for the first time.

However, it could make George Russell's race weekend at Monza a bit trickier given the limited amount of time he would get in the W15 to test out the track changes made for the 2024 season.